New York-style baked coconut & vanilla “cheesecake”

Here’s another dessert I was thrilled about when I managed to veganize it – baked cheesecake was my favourite dessert before going vegan. I use shop-bought, coconut-based vegan “cream cheese” in the mix and caramel Lotus Biscoff biscuits for the base.

Instructions

First make the base. Blitz the Biscoff biscuits in a blender until they are a fine crumb. Keep blending and add the butter and coconut oil. Tip the biscuit mixture into the greased cake tin and use a spoon to press the mixture to form
an even biscuit layer in the base and up the sides. Pop the tin into the fridge until needed.

3

Clean out the blender. Put the almond flour in the blender with the cream cheese and coconut milk. Blend until the mixture is super-smooth. Add the sugar, flour and cornflour and lightly blend until they are well incorporated.
Finally, add the vanilla extract to taste and pulse to mix.

4

Remove the base from the fridge, pour in the filling and smooth the top, making sure it’s level. Fill a deep baking tray with warm water around 2.5 cm (1 inch) high, then place the cake tin into it. NB If you are using a cake tin that
isn’t sealed you must wrap the bottom of the tin with foil to stop any water getting into the cake.

5

Carefully transfer the tray to the middle shelf of the oven to bake for 1 hour.

6

After 1 hour of cooking, carefully remove the tray from the oven and leave to cool for 1 hour before removing the cake from the tray. Wipe the bottom dry and chill in the fridge to set through for at least 3 hours.

7

Meanwhile, make the stewed rhubarb. Simply heat the chopped rhubarb in a saucepan with the rest of the ingredients and simmer over a low heat for 8–10 minutes, or until the rhubarb is tender.

8

Once the cake has chilled right through, carefully release it from the cake tin. Use a hot knife to cut slices and serve with the warm stewed rhubarb. Decorate with fresh mint.